Casper Mountain stands just south of town as a refuge for fleeting moments away from the routine or an escape into nature. To the visually handicapped, Casper Mountain extends more than that with a few weeks of precious hospitality each summer.

The Allen H. Stewart Blind Camp is held for two weeks each summer on the mountain, Gary Olsen, camp director, said. Olsen is completely blind and has been attending camp since 1969. He began teaching in 1973. The first week of camp is for children between the ages of nine and 15 and the second for adults over 16.

The campers are taught braille, orientation and mobility, adaptive technology for computers, cooking skills, cleaning skills, physical education and more. Lapidary classes, music classes and a leather crafts class are also offered.

A class on how to cope with sight loss is offered to the adults, because sight loss late in life can be frightening, Olsen said. Losing the ability to drive or read the newspaper every day will change a person's entire lifestyle. There is also a class offered for the significant others of the adult campers, designed to teach them how to be supportive, Olsen said.

Lions Milk Camp

In 1926 many Casper children were underfed due to a lack of jobs in the community. The Lions Club of Casper opened their first camp at the base of Casper Mountain for undernourished children that year, earning the name "Lions' Milk Camp." In 1928 the camp was moved to the present site and was a refuge for undernourished children until World War II, when it was discontinued.

Smith Shumway, a native of Cheyenne, lost his sight on Normandy Beach in World War II. Upon returning to Wyoming, Shumway approached the Casper Lions Club to present the idea of reopening the camp for the visually impaired. The first camp for the blind was held in the summer of 1946.

Prior to 1979, the camp was solely funded by the Lions Clubs of Wyoming. In 1979, the camp officially became a state project through the Department of Education. The Lions Club now leases the camp site to the Allen H. Stewart Blind Camp, which is run by a board of directors.

Skills for life

Thirteen-year-old Michael Hernandez from Cheyenne has been attending the camp for five years. This year, he learned to fry an egg and prepare his own breakfast. Hernandez has albinism, or a lack of melanin in his skin, hair and eyes. Albinism is often associated with sight problems or sensitivity to light.

"It is something I have had since birth," Hernandez said. Hernandez explained that he has limited sight but can read. There are bifocals in his glasses and he said he has to "get closer to things than other kids" to see them.

Hernandez loves coming to the camp because it is a place where he can learn and be around other children with similar conditions, he said.

"We want the kids to learn to overcome difficult situations," Olsen said. "They learn skills they can take with them to their communities."

For Chad Langley, the camp has become a mainstay in his summer plans. Langley, who was born blind with cataracts, has been teaching computer skills for three years at the camp. Langley had surgery as a child to remove the cataracts and is no longer legally blind, but still experiences some visual impairments.

Langley teaches the campers to use adaptive software to learn basic key boarding skills, basic Windows skills and some networking skills.

"I let them play games, too, but only on breaks," Langley smiled. "If the students learn young in life, that will help them later on."

Langley began attending the camp at age nine. He now attends Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., where he studies aerospace engineering and software engineering. One of his dreams is to work for NASA designing space crafts.

"I never let my visual impairments hold me back," Langley said. "I have always just found my own way to do things."

Forming friendships

As the campers were organized into a game of tee-ball, 9-year-old Kaitlin Slagle and 12-year-old Emma Elwell held hands, hoping to be on the same team.

"We're best friends," Elwell, who lives in Laramie, said, as she hugged her friend's arm. "We met last year and we only see each other at camp."

Elwell has strabismus, or has crossed eyes, and Slagle has albinism.

"We were excited to see each other all year," Slagle, who lives in Casper, said. "We took pictures of each other last year to keep."

Camp is a special place for the kids, Olsen said.

"Sometimes, kids who are visually impaired are not accepted by their peers for whatever reason," Olsen said. "Some of the friendships made here become life-long. They don't have to struggle to be accepted here."

Even for the older campers, camp is a place for socializing. According to Olsen, most of the adult campers are senior citizens experiencing macular degeneration, a disease which causes degeneration of the retina resulting in decreased central vision or blindness.

"For people who have been sighted their whole lives, it is difficult to not be able to recognize people anymore," Olsen said.

Chelsey Dodge,16, is in her second year as an intern at the camp and eighth year attending camp. Dodge has aniridia, or an absence of the iris causing impaired vision.

"It is so peaceful up here. I love it, and I get to see the kids," Dodge said. "This is so important to them. Here, they know that they are not the only ones out there."

Staff writer Carrie May can be reached at 266-0616 or caroline.may@casperstartribune.net.